THE owners of a technology park at Barrow near Clitheroe have been given the go-ahead to build more offices at the site.

Ribble Valley Council's planning and development committee gave a plan to build the units at the former Barrow Printworks off the A59 the thumbs-up.

But the meeting heard 24 letters of objection and a 72-signature petition had been received from villagers objecting to the scheme.

Councillors were told Pilot Properties wanted to build several more office blocks of various shapes and sizes similar to one already in place.

Planning officer John Macholc said the office blocks, some square and others rectangle, would be punctuated throughout the 19-hectare site.

He said: "The main issue here relates to the visual impact of the development, which already has detailed reserved matters consent for office blocks.

"I note the concerns of the parish council and residents, but the principle of development has been established and the design used elsewhere throughout the site. Given this, I have no objection to the siting, character or design of the proposed scheme."

Barrow parish councillors claimed buildings on the edge of the site would be too high and deprive houses of privacy on their upper floors.

They said the proposed offices were not compatible with a rural area and asked for strict controls on light and noise at the site.

Residents claimed the site was too intensive and the offices would overlook their houses, leading to loss of privacy.

They claimed there was insufficient demand for offices and requested that activities at the site be restricted to normal working hours.

Pilot Properties was given the go-ahead in 1989 to build a technology park, hotel and conference centre at the site of the former Barrow Printworks.